NEWS

2013 Year in Review: American Pro Tennis

Serena Williams had one of the best years of her career at age 31. (She turned 32 in September.) She won a WTA-best 11 titles including the French Open, the US Open and the year-end WTA Championships, finished as the year-end world No. 1, won 78 matches for the season and shattered the record for most prize money in a season for a female player, earning more than $12 million.

From singles to doubles and veterans to rookies, it was a history-making year for Americans in 2013.

World No. 1s Serena Williams and Bob and Mike Bryan led the way, as they continued to add to their Hall of Fame legacies and establish themselves as some of the best ever to play the game. The now-32-year-old Serena won her 16th and 17th Grand Slams, at Roland Garros and the US Open, respectively, as part of WTA-best 11 titles won in 2013. With her wins came a shattering of the record for prize money for a female player in one season, at more than $12.3 million, also the third-highest total of all-time for any player, behind just Novak Djokovic in 2011 and 2012.

The Bryans accomplished a never-before-seen feat in men’s doubles, capturing the ‘Golden Slam.’ They won the 2013 Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon to go with their 2012 US Open and Olympic crowns, making them the first men’s doubles team in history to hold all four Slam titles, plus the Olympic title, at the same time. In addition, they kept adding to their own records, with 11 titles to bring their career haul to a record 93 together.

The rest of the American contingent posted impressive results as well, with John Isner capturing two titles, in Houston and Atlanta, to finish as the world No. 14 and top-ranked American man. Sloane Stephens, Jamie Hampton, Madison Keys and Alison Riske were just a few of the American women who had breakout seasons on the WTA tour, as the U.S. boasted the most women in the main draws at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open and finished the season with more women in the Top 100 (11) than any other nation.

In team play, the U.S. Davis Cup and Fed Cup squads did their country proud, fighting each match and for every point. They didn’t come home with the 2013 titles, but it just makes them more determined to do so in 2014.

And the tennis world said goodbye to an American star, as former world No. 4 and Davis Cup champion James Blake retired after 14 great years in professional tennis. The humanitarian and hometown star closed the curtain on his career at the US Open after being one of the stalwarts of U.S. men’s tennis for more than a decade and one of the nicest guys in tennis.